What's NEXT! (continuation of the book Ishmael)
by mar3325
Summary: What happens to the narrator after Ishmael's gone?
**Disclaimer:** The story is from the point of view of the narrator; all the credit goes to the author of the

book Daniel Quinn and written solely for the entertainment purposes. All the characters

are fictitious.

'Ishmael' original work by Daniel Quinn

 **What's next?**

A phrase coming from the radio, "God listens!" caught my attention for a second in the early morning while I was going through Ishmael's belongings trying to find something that would give me direction in what to do next. I spent so much time trying to understand the very nature of humanity and how things came to be this way; and the thought that all of the teachings of my friend and teacher would disappear without having any impact on people's lives unless I continued his legacy, kept my very soul uneasy. For the first time in my life I was responsible for something of a life changing magnitude.

I looked at the old, cryptic poster Ishmael left behind where the front read: "With man gone, will there be hope for gorilla?" I remembered the very first day when I went to see him; Ishmael was a captive in one of the rooms of an old, empty office space and the poster was hanging on the wall above his head. The meaning of the poster that we never got to talk about was literal. All the issues we discussed including mother culture, evolution, civilization, inherent goodness of man, captivity, identity etc. were related to the words on the poster. Gorillas are becoming extinct and humankind has contributed to that thus what if humans were gone, would Gorillas still be going extinct? The answer to the question lies in our minds and our decision on how to respond to it makes all the difference. Saying 'Yes' conveys acknowledgement to the fact that we are causing the disaster which should motivate us to change such an outcome. Saying 'No' then leads us to the next question that was written on the back of the poster that said "With gorilla gone, will there be hope for man?"

I slowly closed my eyes and started thinking. Takers are civilized people, who developed agriculture in early days of human civilization. Leavers are people that belong to all the other cultures usually considered primitive by Takers. Takers tend to think that human beings are the major creation of evolution and that the world was created for man. Their belief tells them that the gods want man to be in control and anything that is wrong with man can be blamed onto the gods. The main premise of Ishmael's teachings is the fact that he tends to completely disagree with the statement above by implying that the thing that is wrong with humans is that the story they believe in and want to enact which puts them in conflict with the world. So, the inherent problem lies in the storyline in other words our culture. "Leavers have been oppressed for generations, what was the reason not to fight back?" I asked myself.

What if Leavers start to actually defend themselves and go against Takers? "This is where it should become interesting", I said to myself. People have to know the truth because they have to. Ishmael opened my eyes to the truth that has been in front of me for as long as I am alive but it had never crossed my mind before because I was blinded by the culture, media and society that is saturated with Takers. I believe every individual has a tiny little 'Leaver flame' inside that can inflame into fire with some fuel. That fuel is the truth that has been perverted over the years and that perversion has become a norm that everyone is raised by. It has to change and the real truth should prevail.

My grandpa told me a story when I was a kid:

Once, one of the inquisitive students approached his master with a butterfly in his fist and asked: "Master, is the butterfly I'm holding alive or dead?" The student felt the butterfly crawling in his fist but was ready to smash it for his truth.

Master, without looking at the student's fist said: "It is in your hand!"

Our tendency as human beings to do anything to create the truth is frightening.

"God listens!" (stringent voice coming from the radio).

I fell asleep on the couch in my living room surrounded by stacks of books.

In the early morning, I got woken up by Will and Nahko, two of my good friends. Will is a cable news reporter who is very popular in the media and Nahko (which means 'Bear' from Native American) is probably one of the most positive and life loving people I have ever met. They were away in Africa for several months, Will doing volunteer work and reporting and Bear followed him along to discover and write songs. Spiritual journey that Nahko is pursuing is inspirational. People like him should be role models, people like Tramp Trump (Takers) who claim to be self-built billionaires, who have no purpose in life except for getting attention and spitting slurs against diversity should be forgotten. Nahko, Will and I have been friends for as long as I remember. We were called three musketeers in high-school because we would stick together and never allowed bullying (or anything in similar matter) neither towards us nor our younger or weaker fellows.

I told them everything that happened to me in the past month. They thought I was making a joke, so they laughed.

Will: Do you believe in what you are saying?

Narrator: I know it sounds improbable that a gorilla would be able to communicate with a human and there is a lot to be explained but I felt every single bit of the conversations we had.

Nahko told me: 'if that occurred to you and you strongly believe in Ishmael's teachings then I believe you!' he also added "By the way name Ishmael means 'God listens' from Hebrew.

My eyes opened wider than ever.

Nahko: 'What? I am part Jewish.'

'You are part genius!', I exclaimed and went outside.

I sat on the porch, closed my eyes and concentrated.

"You should stop thinking and start acting, because I am getting tired of listening. I want to see the change." – Ishmael said with his rather weary voice.

'I knew you were not gone!' I screamed happily.

Nahko Bear and medicine for the people is a social movement that was formed in 2008, a few years after I shared my story with Nahko. Its main purpose is and remains to be the biggest catalyst for social and environmental change in the world. Nahko has written over a hundred songs promoting spiritual life, sustainable environment, compassion and love towards people and living beings on earth. Singing is just a part of his life journey along with that he also travels and helps different communities and enlightens people through his 'medicine for the people'. Will McAvoy, the ACN news reporter set on a mission to civilize and educate people through news network. Even though, Will has lost a big chunk of his audience and reputation since then, he has gained trust which is very hard to attain and respect from his followers. My mission remains to be spreading Ishmael's teachings. I want to put the truth in people's hands and let them decide which path to follow. Our movement is growing bigger each year. One thing I realized is that you don't need a reason to help people. The truth lies in our hands and we decide what to do with it.

'Is there hope for a Gorilla with man gone?'


End file.
